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Is Tony Blair striking out on his own?

"Tony Blair admitted last night that the US and Britain were losing the battle for mainstream Muslim and Arab opinion, as it emerged that he had rejected an appeal by his Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, to seek an early ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

In a speech delivered to the World Affairs Institute in Los Angeles, the Prime Minister said that the West was "very far" from persuading world opinion that it was fair or even-handed, in a speech that came close to an open rebuke to the US President, George Bush. But senior Labour figures will be furious that the Prime Minister once again failed to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East.

As he returns to Britain today, Mr Blair will find himself an isolated figure in his own Cabinet over Lebanon. The dissent among senior Labour figures over Britain's approach to the conflict is now being seen as a growing challenge to the authority of the Prime Minister."

It seems that Tony Blair - unlike PM Howard who steadfastly sticks by George Bush come what may, right or wrong, or whatever - may be having a re-think on a range of critically important issues. Read the full article from The Independent here.

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